It has been reported that visual statistical learning (VSL) is facilitated in skewed distributions. However, it remains unclear whether enhancement of VSL in Zipfian distributions is due to consciousness of the regularities presented at high frequency. This study addressed this issue. We measured participants' subjective confidence in regularities…

This work categorizes Japanese Sign Language (JSL) toponyms, or place names, and examines factors that potentially affect their structure. Exonyms, influenced by the source Japanese name, and endonyms, independent JSL names, contrast structurally in that exonyms tend to emerge as compounds while endonyms conform more closely to canonical…

Learner engagement is crucial for ensuring the quality of learning experiences, and yet the study of 'task engagement' has received relatively little empirical attention in the language education domain. This article reports on a study exploring the factors contributing to learners' engagement and disengagement during task performance in an…

In this study, an instrument for measuring proper name (PN) familiarity was developed for a psycholinguistic experiment investigating the effect of PNs on Japanese university students' English reading fluency. Familiarity has previously been operationalized in disparate ways, producing contradictory results. Furthermore, authors of previous…

The case method (CM) is a powerful instructional tool for promoting active learning and has been encouraged by a number of universities and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan. In this context, the current research examined Japanese university instructors' understanding of this method, their practices in…

This study examined the effects of introducing a Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) in global education at the university lesson. The indexes of GPI were organised using dashboard indexes of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Data on the students' impression and evaluation scores of their reports were compared. It was found…

This study, based on a series of surveys conducted at a national university in Western Japan examines perceptions of homosexual men in contemporary Japanese society specifically from the perspective of college students. Through the investigation of a variety of elements that shape attitudes among the younger generation such as personal background…

In this quasi-experimental study, the effects of lexical coverage through pseudo word manipulation in dialogue comprehension are investigated. Forty-four first-year students in a Japanese university listened to five dialogues at different lexical coverage levels: 98%, 95%, 90%, 85%, and 83%. The results of the comprehension tests confirm the…

Children acquire argument structure through distributional evidence, but how does this interacts with event semantics and existing verb knowledge? The current study compares verb learning in adult speakers of Japanese (where lexical causatives span wider semantic categories) and English (where alternation is more restricted). In the Fully…

The current study examines how second language (L2) users differentially assess the comprehensibility (i.e., ease of understanding) of foreign-accented speech according to a range of background variables, including first language (L1) profiles, L2 proficiency, age, experience, familiarity, and metacognition. A total of 110 L2 listeners first…

This study examined the effects of relevance instructions on English as a foreign language (EFL) readers' text processing and memories. The participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: the experimental condition, where they read texts to identify a specific category of information, and the control condition, where they read texts…

The present study investigated Korean-accented English (KoE) intelligibility and conducted experiments in Korea, Japan, and the USA to test the benefits of listener's familiarity and identify the key phonological features of KoE. In the experiments, the participants were asked to transcribe the target (KoE) of 100 English statements each…

Lexical inferencing is considered a listening strategy that is commonly employed by advanced EFL (English as a Foreign Language) listeners and a factor that contributes to successful listening comprehension. However, investigations of the factors that influence inferencing success in listening as well as how much each factor contributes to success…

This paper presents findings from an approximate replication of Erten and Razi (2009), which investigated the effects of cultural familiarity and reading activities on comprehension. Two variables were modified in the replication: participants' first language (L1) and proficiency. Cultural referents were manipulated in a short story to make them…

This study analyzes relationships between socio-demographic factors (age, sex, education, and household income) and environmental awareness related to the eco-policy in Toyota City, Japan. Previous research has shown that citizens' environmental awareness improved significantly after the city was designated as an environmental model city by the…